Beaches & Boat Day in Phuket (Thailand Chronicles)
Thailand Chronicles: December 2025
Boy, did I have an unforgettable five (5) days in Thailand! It was so much of a good time that to tell the story as it deserves to be told, I decided to break it up into a four (4) part chronicles, multimedia blog post with pics, vids, reels (wil need more time to create). Below is the break down with their release date:
Beaches & Boat Day in Phuket [Release: Friday, Jan 16]
Petting some Tigers in Tiger Park [Release: Saturday, Jan 17]
Elephant Sanctuary Crossed off the Bucket List [Release: Sunday, Jan 18]
Overall, My First Visit to Asia was Meant to Be in Thailand [Release: Monday, Jan 19]
Lucky you, lol, one a day for the next four days. Happy Friday, indeed! I hope you leave learning more about traveling - internationally, Thailand, etc & inspired to go on your next wild trip adventure. Please support by sharing with your fav ppl and on your social media!
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Thank you for reading & reliving this story with me.
Beaches & Boat Day in Phuket
These beaches were something special. *deep breath*
I mean, other level special. Unreal. The kind you only see in movies. Crystal clean white sand and turquoise water. Clear too. I was stunned at each one I visited - there was also such a beautiful energy in the air that almost encouraged folks to bask in the bright sun and soak up every wave the ocean made.
Maribel standing smiling on the beach with the light blue ocean and sun setting behind her. | Maribel está de pie sonriendo en la playa, con el océano azul claro y el sol atardeciendo de fondo.
The first beach I went to was Mai Khao Beach, 10 min driving distance from the hotel and even closer to the airport. It was absolutely stunning. The water was so warm and practically hugged you, but fiercely lol. The down side to it was so much sand making it inside your swim suit because of how strong the waves were. There was more than enough room for me to wonder through the whole beach as if it were rented out just for me. lol
Planned for this beach to be more of a midday to sunset activity and it was spot on timing because witnessing the sunset behind this massive body of beautiful water was heaven sent. It made me lose track of all reality. I felt like I had teleported into another dimension of the world where everything radiated peace. And how cool was the fact that this huge ol turtle was just out and about, walking firmly on the sidewalk as if to get to his cabana before humans take over it.
Maribel meets huge turtle as it walks across the sidewalk by the beach. | Maribel conociendo una tortuga gigante mientras caminaba en cerca de la playa.
Ended up eating and drinking at Mae La’s Kitchen for some yummy fresh seafood. They made a really good mojito too. Def recommend getting a bite there before and/or after enjoying the beach. The staff from the restaurant also ended up pointing us toward their bathroom/shower, which I believed was theirs, but could have also just been a public one for the beach goers. Pleasantly surprised, the space was not dirty or super wet or too small where it becomes a challenge to get yourself rinsed off and changed. They had more than enough space, and a bucket with a sort of cup to use to pour on yourself. AHH. Felt like the fresh fire heated bucket of water to mix with the other bucket of cold water showers I take when I go to visit family in Mexico - only in Thailand it was so much nicer climate and temperatures. I literally felt like I was in paradise and I was taking a bucket shower. LOL ALL SMILES! :D (side note: the lashes were only $30 btw).
Next up, I decided to buy one of those day long boat island excursions that took us to the three (3) popular islands right outside of Phuket. The tour included: Phi Phi Islands (Maya Bay), James Bond Island in Phan Nga Bay via a high speed boat including stops for jet skiing, kayaking, lunch, boat slide, monkey sightings, swimming in the most gorgeous waters, and sightseeing throughout. Not to mention, free snacks & water.
Another unforgettable set of beach views. If you know me, you know how much I love the beach; so when I say I was at my HAPPIEST, every smile in my selfies show it. And if the tone of this blog doesn’t scream “I highly recommend every thing I’m raving about” — I’m not sure how else to convince you to invest your time and money on this country.
The staff of the boat excursion was young, hip and matched my energy completely lol. At the first stop for jet skiing, I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my whole purse with my phone and everything else inside of some container in this little kiosk where the boat had docked. It didn’t look very well monitored and I didn’t want to take no chances, so the main boat staff guy offered to just hold it the entire time if that’s what would make me feel better. Blessed. Thai folk in general were genuinely nice people, but this was what I considered next level customer service. 10/10 STARS! Honestly, don’t remember the name of the booking company that I stumbled upon in old town Phuket, but their uniforms said “Sawanu Royal Phuket Marina” and cost me about $80 USD. Highly recommend.
Maribel poses for a selfie with two of the main speedboat tour crew. | Maribel posa para una foto con dos de los miembros principales de la excursión en lancha rápida.
After this, I was tight with the crew lol helping them call our boat people over when it was getting close to reboarding time and engaging in their call and response announcements. I had even told them it was my birthday, since y’all know what type of time I was on, (every day was my bday on this trip lol) and they did a whole celebration with individual slices of cake for me and two others who were also celebrating. I felt so cute dancing with my candle like them trendy pics of girlies using the candles as smoking-like props. The boat was jumping at this point. Imagine some of your favorite oldies: Akon’s Smack That, Tyga’s Macarena, and T-Pain’s Low. It was the last stretch before docking so everyone who wanted to dance was up on their feet vibing or sitting chilling taking advantage of how beautiful sunset views. Not me though. Y’all know I was UP! Dancing with my new friends aka the boat crew staff lol.
Truly felt like nothing else mattered other than being present, breathing in gratitude and breathing out joy. Thailand — your land, water, people, and culture welcomed me in at full arms embrace. I got on my knees with their sign of thanks to show my appreciation at the end of the boat day.
Enjoy the last slide down into the Andaman Sea.
Honorary mention: Banana Beach. Spent the last day hanging out with the beach & the sun. Met some people who were watching me dance by myself and with the waitress. They told me if I wanna be a star to do it now. The universe’s confirmation. (‘:
P.S. Spanish translation coming soon..